“I… I do not think I have seen you here before,” she said after a moment. “Have we never met before now?”
Cole shook his head. “Never,” he said. “I have known your father and brothers for years, of course, because they are allies with my father, but I have never been to The Keld. And I am sure you have never been to my home.”
“Where is your home?”
“Pelinom Castle. It is to the north, on the Scots border.”
“You serve there with your father?”
He nodded. “I do.”
For such a terrifying-looking man, in both size and manner, he had an unusual gentleness as he spoke to her. In fact, he had succeeded in calming her down, and Corisande wiped the last of her tears as Cole managed to make her feel a little less shaken. In fact, she felt better with his reassurance.
“You have been very kind, my lord,” she said. “You did not have to take the time to speak with me after… after what happened, but I am grateful that you did.”
The corners of his mouth twitched. “It was my pleasure,” he said. “You see, I have three sisters, only one of which is a calm, rational female. The other two are flighty and a bit dramatic at times, but they are sweet and lovable. They are my sisters, afterall. Should they become upset over something, I would hope that someone would speak kindly to them and calm them.”
Corisande grinned, revealing lovely teeth. “Then you are well-versed in handling hysterical woman.”
He snorted. “Hardly,” he said. “Effie is a handful even in the best of times, but Addie is more manageable. There was a time when she would not leave me alone, sitting in my lap and holding my hand everywhere I went, the little goose. I could not shake her no matter what I did.”
Corisande eyed him dubiously. “You probably did not even try.”
“Of course I did,” he insisted. “But then she would cry and my mother would become angry, so I was forced to endure.”
“And you loved it.”
He lifted his chin defiantly. “I did not and you cannot make me say otherwise.”
Corisande giggled at him because she could see that he was jesting. There was a lightness to the mood that hadn’t been there before and after the horrors of the day, it did her heart good. The man had a comforting manner about him, at least with her, and it intrigued her immensely. She liked it. In fact, she thought he was rather sweet and was about to taunt him again about his annoying little sister when the door to the solar suddenly slammed back on its hinges.
Ares and Addax appeared, dragging the charred, smoldering corpse out into the entry. The stench of burned human flesh began to seep into the air, that sickening sweet smell, and Corisande had a quick, sickening glimpse of the body before Cole abruptly stood up and blocked her view.
“Where is your chamber, my lady?” he asked steadily. “Mayhap it is time to retire until this mess is cleaned up.”
Corisande was unable to see anything with that big body in her field of vision. “I do not think that is necessary,” she said. “My father’s will surely need my assistance now and…”
He interrupted her, though he was not harsh. “Someone will attend to your father,” he said, standing on the bottom step so she had no choice but to stand up and move up a stair or two. “He has several knights at his disposal and hundreds of soldiers, so you needn’t worry. I realize you are the chatelaine and this is your domain, but let the men handle this. You do not need to sully your delicate senses with this unsavory task, my lady.”
There was that kindness again, so unexpected from a man so fierce. Corisande found herself looking into those eyes, this time at close range, and seeing that they were truly remarkable. A golden-brown band circled the pupil and a bright green band encircled the golden-brown. They were looking at her pleasantly, but she had seen them turn hard when dealing with the Scotsman.
They were quite remarkable as, she suspected, was he.
“Your concern is most appreciated, my lord,” she said, smiling timidly. “But I do not need to retire to my chamber. I should be part of this. As you said, the keep is my domain. I cannot shirk my responsibilities, no matter how distasteful.”
Cole opened his mouth to politely argue with her, but a shout from Alastor interrupted him.
“Cori!” he boomed. “To your chamber!”
Corisande caught sight of her father as he pushed past the men and servants hauling debris out his solar. “But–!”
Alastor cut her off. “Argue with me and I will authorize de Velt to pick you up and bodily carry you to your chamber,” he said unhappily. “Get out of here. I will not tell you again.”
By that time, he was almost to the stairs, and Corisande thought it would be best to obey the man. When he was angry, which was rare, it would do no good to argue. With a glanceat Cole, and a grateful dip of her head for the concern he showed her, she gathered her skirts and rushed up the stairs, disappearing into the level above.
Cole tried not to be too obvious about watching her as Alastor huffed and puffed beside him.
“What did he say?” he demanded. “Canmore, I mean. He spoke Gaelic. What did he say?”
